CanWest Launches International Distribution Company, London Office of New Division to be Headed by Greg Phillips.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 23, 1999--CanWest Global(TSE:CGS.A.) (TSE:CGS.S.) (NYSE:CWG) CanWest Entertainment, one of Canada's leading production and distribution companies announced today the formation of CanWest Entertainment International and the appointment of Greg Phillips as President.

CanWest Entertainment International is the distribution arm of CanWest Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CanWest Global Communications Corp. It will be headquartered in London and distribute programs worldwide. Mr. Phillips comes to CanWest with more than 25 years experience as a sales executive with a number of major international media companies including CBS, MTM, and Southern Star.

"Greg Phillips is the right person at the right time to help secure the long-term growth of this company in the United Kingdom and around the world," said CanWest Entertainment CEO Jay Firestone. "We have a great deal of confidence in his abilities to ensure our products reach the widest possible audience."

"Greg will join us on April 6th," added Firestone. "He will immediately raise the profile of CanWest in the United Kingdom and on the international programming scene. We will now be able to give Canadian producers an additional choice for the distribution of their creative works worldwide."

"This is the next step in building CanWest Entertainment into an integrated, production and distribution operation," said Leonard Asper, Chief Operating Officer of CanWest Global Communications Corp. "Since the acquisition of Fireworks in May 1998, we have invested in owning greater rights in the programming and this development will allow us to capitalize on these assets."

Asper added that a strong program distribution arm is an integral part of CanWest's strategy of putting more financing and support behind Canadian production. "The stronger we are at exporting Canadian talent, the more successful we can be at ensuring a supply of quality Canadian programs."

Upon the announcement, Mr. Phillips said, "I was particularly impressed by the programming plans and philosophy in which the needs of the audience around the world are the pre-eminent consideration and by the substantial commitment to the enterprise by CanWest, for whose operations, successes and executives around the world, I have the greatest respect. I'm thrilled at having the opportunity to build a great international program distribution company for this growing international media company."

CanWest Entertainment International will begin with a powerful and growing library of productions which include a full slate of new productions. Among the exciting new programs and series:

     -    22 one-hour episodes of Relic Hunter starring Tia Carrere, a
          Canada/France co-production with Gaumont Television which
          has been pre-sold to more than 85 percent of the US market,
          to CityTV in Canada, M6 in France and ProSieben in Germany.

     -    26 half-hour episodes of the family drama Stray Dog, the
          coming of age story of a girl in the Rocky Mountain
          foothills who befriends a runaway search and rescue dog.
          Stray Dog has been pre-sold to Nickelodeon in the US, and
          YTV in Canada.

     -    A second full season of Real Kids, Real Adventures for
          Discovery USA and the Global Television Network in Canada.

     The Company also has a number of movies in development,
including:

     -    A two hour Christmas Movie of the Week for CBS called Twas
          the Night starring Roma Downey from Touched by an Angel.

     -    Four installments of the popular Robocop series of movies

     -    A Canada / Germany Movie of the Week entitled Poison, about
          a bad seed daughter reunited with her ex-con mother in
          partnership with Davis/Panzer.

In addition, CanWest is currently negotiating to acquire foreign distribution rights to two new series and is actively pursuing relationships which can help feed its distribution strategy.

CanWest Global Communications Corp. (NYSE: CWG and TSE: CGS.S and CGS.A) is an international media company. In Canada, CanWest owns and operates the Global Television Network and Global Prime Cable Network as well as Fireworks Entertainment Inc., a production and distribution company. Internationally, CanWest owns and operates New Zealand's TV3 and TV4 Television Networks and the More FM Radio Network. The Company also has significant investments in Australia's TEN Television Network, the Republic of Ireland's new TV3 Television Network, and Northern Ireland's Ulster Television.